Solar electric systems proliferate with much room to grow
Regional restrictions place a cap on the number of systems in any given area
By Erika Engle
Article from: STAR-ADVERTISER
Consumer-installed solar electric systems on Oahu, the Big Island and in Maui County more than doubled in 2010 with 3,967 systems added, compared with 1,916 in 2009.
“This will help all of us in Hawaii as we continue to make progress in cutting our dependence on imported oil,” said Robbie Alm, Hawaiian Electric Co. executive vice president, in a statement.
The installations have increased the state’s electric generation capacity by 13 megawatts, enough to power 3,350 homes.
Alm commended the solar industry for “helping make Hawaii a solar leader.”
“Coordinating with them, we have worked to make solar power more accessible for our customers,” he said.
Some 17 new large-scale photovoltaic projects will sell electricity back to Hawaiian Electric. They will produce 3.2 megawatts.
However, all for the solar industry is not sunny, as regulations limit the number of customers that can easily install solar and integrate with their island’s utility.
» Oahu circuit map is.gd/HECOmap
» Big Island circuit map is.gd/HELCOmap
» Maui County circuit maps: is.gd/MECOmap
“The irony here is while we in the industry gratefully accept HECO’s congratulations for having a strong year in 2010, at the same time we in the industry are seeing more and more circuits being effectively closed to more PV,” said Marco Mangelsdorf, president of Hilo-based ProVision Solar Inc.
Once a residential area reaches a certain threshold of energy-generating customers, additional residents wanting to sell power to the utility have to pay for a reliability study, Mangelsdorf said. Those can cost $2,500 for an individual residential customer, while commercial customers can pay tens of thousands of dollars.
HECO has produced detailed maps customers can access online to determine whether their area is at or near the generation threshold.
Meanwhile, the government, utilities and solar industry continue working “to set some reliability standards,” said Darren Pai, HECO spokesman. The parties are examining “what can be done to increase the amount of these variable resources we have on the system and make sure we can integrate them all reliably and safely.”
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Major Hawaiian Company~Alexander & Baldwin Doubles Yearly Earnings
Alexander & Baldwin doubles yearly earnings
A stagnant fourth quarter is outweighed by ocean cargo service, real estate sales and sugar operations
By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Alexander & Baldwin Inc. profit was flat in the last three months of 2010, but bigger gains earlier in the year enabled the diversified Honolulu-based company to more than double full-year earnings.
Fourth-quarter net $20.2 million
Year-earlier net $20.1 million
A&B reported 2010 net income of $92.1 million, up from $44.2 million the year before. The gain came on revenue of $1.6 billion, compared with $1.4 billion in the same comparable period.
Fourth-quarter net income was $20.2 million, barely up from $20.1 million in the 2009 fourth quarter. Revenue for the same period totaled $461.4 million, up from $362.9 million.
Profits for the quarter and year were principally driven by ocean cargo service from China by subsidiary Matson Navigation Co., real estate sales and a turnaround in Maui sugar cane operations.
Stan Kuriyama, A&B president and chief executive officer, characterized last year’s earnings as a rebound from 2009 and said he expects improved results this year as the economy strengthens.
“We begin 2011 with an improving economic environment in Hawaii and on the mainland,” he said in a statement. “Hawaii has been led by major gains in the visitor industry, which contributed to higher employment levels and real personal income. These emerging signs of economic recovery are encouraging and provide us with greater confidence for continued improvement in 2011.”
The biggest chunk of operating profit for A&B in the fourth quarter came from real estate sales that included an industrial complex in California and unimproved land on Maui.
Operating profit from property sales totaled $17.8 million, down from $20.4 million a year earlier when the company sold the Honolulu office building Pacific Guardian Tower, a California retail center and several unimproved parcels on Maui.
In A&B’s real estate leasing division, fourth-quarter operating profit was lower than a year earlier — $8.4 million compared with $10 million — because of lower tenant rents and changes in the property portfolio from sales and acquisitions.
Average occupancy at A&B Hawaii properties in the quarter was 91 percent, down from 95 percent a year earlier. The decline was due in part to A&B’s acquisition last year of a Kapolei industrial complex that is 74 percent occupied. Occupancy for A&B’s mainland property portfolio was 86 percent, up from 83 percent.
At Matson, fourth-quarter operating profit was $11.6 million, down from $13.5 million a year earlier. The decrease was largely due to $19 million in start-up losses for a new China-California cargo service using leased vessels. Higher fuel costs also contributed to the reduced operating profit, A&B said.
Matson container volume to Hawaii was up 8 percent to 37,100 in the fourth quarter from 34,200 a year earlier, but the gain reflected an extra week in Matson’s 2010 fiscal year.
Hawaii automobile shipments slipped in the quarter to 19,800 from 20,600 a year earlier, which A&B said was principally due to the timing of rental car replacements.
A potential big expense for Matson this year could be replacing two interisland barges, though A&B said it hasn’t made a decision. The company has budgeted $45 million as a potential partial payment for the barges this year should it make the move.
A&B expects its China service to be the main driver of better Matson returns this year given that Hawaii’s economy and construction industry are forecast to modestly improve.
The only A&B division to increase operating profit in the fourth quarter was agribusiness, with a $4.6 million return that compared with an $800,000 loss a year earlier. The reversal was primarily due to subsidiary Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. achieving higher production, sales and prices.
A&B projects sustained profitability from its sugar operations this year. The company also expects improved financial results to come from a deal announced in December to turn over its Kauai Coffee Co. to global premium coffee seller Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group of Italy.
The deal, which involves Massimo Zanetti buying the Kauai Coffee brand, leasing A&B’s plantation and retaining all employees, is expected to close in March.
A stagnant fourth quarter is outweighed by ocean cargo service, real estate sales and sugar operations
By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Alexander & Baldwin Inc. profit was flat in the last three months of 2010, but bigger gains earlier in the year enabled the diversified Honolulu-based company to more than double full-year earnings.
Fourth-quarter net $20.2 million
Year-earlier net $20.1 million
A&B reported 2010 net income of $92.1 million, up from $44.2 million the year before. The gain came on revenue of $1.6 billion, compared with $1.4 billion in the same comparable period.
Fourth-quarter net income was $20.2 million, barely up from $20.1 million in the 2009 fourth quarter. Revenue for the same period totaled $461.4 million, up from $362.9 million.
Profits for the quarter and year were principally driven by ocean cargo service from China by subsidiary Matson Navigation Co., real estate sales and a turnaround in Maui sugar cane operations.
Stan Kuriyama, A&B president and chief executive officer, characterized last year’s earnings as a rebound from 2009 and said he expects improved results this year as the economy strengthens.
“We begin 2011 with an improving economic environment in Hawaii and on the mainland,” he said in a statement. “Hawaii has been led by major gains in the visitor industry, which contributed to higher employment levels and real personal income. These emerging signs of economic recovery are encouraging and provide us with greater confidence for continued improvement in 2011.”
The biggest chunk of operating profit for A&B in the fourth quarter came from real estate sales that included an industrial complex in California and unimproved land on Maui.
Operating profit from property sales totaled $17.8 million, down from $20.4 million a year earlier when the company sold the Honolulu office building Pacific Guardian Tower, a California retail center and several unimproved parcels on Maui.
In A&B’s real estate leasing division, fourth-quarter operating profit was lower than a year earlier — $8.4 million compared with $10 million — because of lower tenant rents and changes in the property portfolio from sales and acquisitions.
Average occupancy at A&B Hawaii properties in the quarter was 91 percent, down from 95 percent a year earlier. The decline was due in part to A&B’s acquisition last year of a Kapolei industrial complex that is 74 percent occupied. Occupancy for A&B’s mainland property portfolio was 86 percent, up from 83 percent.
At Matson, fourth-quarter operating profit was $11.6 million, down from $13.5 million a year earlier. The decrease was largely due to $19 million in start-up losses for a new China-California cargo service using leased vessels. Higher fuel costs also contributed to the reduced operating profit, A&B said.
Matson container volume to Hawaii was up 8 percent to 37,100 in the fourth quarter from 34,200 a year earlier, but the gain reflected an extra week in Matson’s 2010 fiscal year.
Hawaii automobile shipments slipped in the quarter to 19,800 from 20,600 a year earlier, which A&B said was principally due to the timing of rental car replacements.
A potential big expense for Matson this year could be replacing two interisland barges, though A&B said it hasn’t made a decision. The company has budgeted $45 million as a potential partial payment for the barges this year should it make the move.
A&B expects its China service to be the main driver of better Matson returns this year given that Hawaii’s economy and construction industry are forecast to modestly improve.
The only A&B division to increase operating profit in the fourth quarter was agribusiness, with a $4.6 million return that compared with an $800,000 loss a year earlier. The reversal was primarily due to subsidiary Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. achieving higher production, sales and prices.
A&B projects sustained profitability from its sugar operations this year. The company also expects improved financial results to come from a deal announced in December to turn over its Kauai Coffee Co. to global premium coffee seller Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group of Italy.
The deal, which involves Massimo Zanetti buying the Kauai Coffee brand, leasing A&B’s plantation and retaining all employees, is expected to close in March.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
YOU'RE INVITED!!
THIS FRIDAY FEBRUARY 4TH, 2010
1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M.
160 Ahekolo, Kilohana Ridge
5 bedroom, 4 bath
Renovated kitchen. Ocean View Large Lot
Jara Wood flooring
Broker Owned
$1.180.000
Call for your private viewing today.
Bob Hansen, BROKER, 808.283.9456 or Donna D. Hansen, Realtor (S), 808.280.1650
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
China’s First Direct Flight to the Islands ~ Another Tourism Positive
China’s First Direct Flight to the Islands ~ Another Tourism Positive
Visitors from China arrive ready to spend
By Dan Nakaso
Article from: Star-Advertiser
The first chartered direct flight full of high-spending Chinese tourists touched down at Honolulu Airport yesterday with 263 passengers eager to shop and see the islands through the Chinese New Year over the next six days.
Chinese visitors are expected to spend an average of $368 per person per day this year, compared to just $275 per day for every Japanese tourist, said David Uchiyama, vice president of brand management for the Hawaii Tourism Authority, who welcomed the Chinese guests at a special airport reception that included hula dancers, live Hawaiian music, lei, soft drinks and plenty of picture-taking.
By comparison, spending for all Hawaii tourists averages just $178 per day, according to the HTA.
So yesterday’s arrival of high-spending Chinese visitors from a specially chartered flight is “significant,” Uchiyama said. “This is going to have a big impact on the state.”
Last year, Hawaii saw the arrival of 66,048 Chinese visitors, who each spent an average of $357 per day. This year the HTA expects to see 82,146 Chinese tourists, a 24 percent increase.
Li Xiu Ying, a retired teacher from Szechuan province, and her husband, factory manager Quing Shi Luo, deplaned from the chartered Airbus 340 yesterday full of smiles.
Their flight originated in Beijing, picked up more passengers in Shanghai Pudong International Airport east of Shanghai, and then took seven hours and 10 minutes to land in Hono-lulu — a time Li said through a translator was “very fast.”
When asked how she plans to spend six days in the islands, Li rattled off a response.
“Shopping,” the translator said. “She wants to go shopping.”
Li is particularly eager to buy high-end, designer goods in Honolulu that she can trust to be authentic.
“She’s happy to come to this place that everybody in the world wants to see,” said the translator.
Yesterday’s flight was the first of three chartered by China CYTS Tours and expected to arrive in the first four months of the year, according to the HTA.
It follows the 2007 signing of a U.S.-China memorandum of understanding that helped make it easier for Chinese visitors to obtain travel visas to come to Hawaii.
Ted Liu, former director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, flew in economy class aboard yesterday’s flight, which, he said, represented the culmination of 18 months of work by the administration of former Gov. Linda Lingle.
Liu estimated that one-fourth of the passengers have been to Hawaii before by flying through Narita, Japan, or through South Korea. The majority of yesterday’s passengers were families that included grandchildren and the elderly, Liu said.
“There was a lot of excitement on board, a lot of happy people,” Liu said. “People were very excited about Hawaii.”
However, there was no Hawaii literature onboard the Airbus 340 or any Hawaii-themed in-flight videos to get passengers excited about what they will see in the islands, which needs to be corrected, Liu said.
And once on the ground, some passengers spent 30 to 45 minutes filling out customs forms that could have easily been completed in advance in the air, Liu said.
But he was pleased that so many arriving Chinese passengers seemed eager to start their Hawaii vacations, which Liu expects will include plenty of shopping for luxury goods.
“They can get better value here, as well as the assurance that it’s authentic,” Liu said.
Many of the Chinese visitors planned to follow China CYTS Tours of major Oahu attractions while others designed individual itineraries.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority said the Chinese visitors will stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Sheraton Waikiki, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, Aston Hotels and Resorts, Ocean Resorts Waikiki and the Hyatt Regency.
“The series of Hawaii package products have been promoted in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Shanxi Province and are designed to meet the different demands of Chinese travelers,” Zhang Lijun, president of CYTS, said in a statement. “The tour package for this first group is specifically for individuals who wanted to travel during the Chinese New Year.”
Visitors from China arrive ready to spend
By Dan Nakaso
Article from: Star-Advertiser
The first chartered direct flight full of high-spending Chinese tourists touched down at Honolulu Airport yesterday with 263 passengers eager to shop and see the islands through the Chinese New Year over the next six days.
Chinese visitors are expected to spend an average of $368 per person per day this year, compared to just $275 per day for every Japanese tourist, said David Uchiyama, vice president of brand management for the Hawaii Tourism Authority, who welcomed the Chinese guests at a special airport reception that included hula dancers, live Hawaiian music, lei, soft drinks and plenty of picture-taking.
By comparison, spending for all Hawaii tourists averages just $178 per day, according to the HTA.
So yesterday’s arrival of high-spending Chinese visitors from a specially chartered flight is “significant,” Uchiyama said. “This is going to have a big impact on the state.”
Last year, Hawaii saw the arrival of 66,048 Chinese visitors, who each spent an average of $357 per day. This year the HTA expects to see 82,146 Chinese tourists, a 24 percent increase.
Li Xiu Ying, a retired teacher from Szechuan province, and her husband, factory manager Quing Shi Luo, deplaned from the chartered Airbus 340 yesterday full of smiles.
Their flight originated in Beijing, picked up more passengers in Shanghai Pudong International Airport east of Shanghai, and then took seven hours and 10 minutes to land in Hono-lulu — a time Li said through a translator was “very fast.”
When asked how she plans to spend six days in the islands, Li rattled off a response.
“Shopping,” the translator said. “She wants to go shopping.”
Li is particularly eager to buy high-end, designer goods in Honolulu that she can trust to be authentic.
“She’s happy to come to this place that everybody in the world wants to see,” said the translator.
Yesterday’s flight was the first of three chartered by China CYTS Tours and expected to arrive in the first four months of the year, according to the HTA.
It follows the 2007 signing of a U.S.-China memorandum of understanding that helped make it easier for Chinese visitors to obtain travel visas to come to Hawaii.
Ted Liu, former director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, flew in economy class aboard yesterday’s flight, which, he said, represented the culmination of 18 months of work by the administration of former Gov. Linda Lingle.
Liu estimated that one-fourth of the passengers have been to Hawaii before by flying through Narita, Japan, or through South Korea. The majority of yesterday’s passengers were families that included grandchildren and the elderly, Liu said.
“There was a lot of excitement on board, a lot of happy people,” Liu said. “People were very excited about Hawaii.”
However, there was no Hawaii literature onboard the Airbus 340 or any Hawaii-themed in-flight videos to get passengers excited about what they will see in the islands, which needs to be corrected, Liu said.
And once on the ground, some passengers spent 30 to 45 minutes filling out customs forms that could have easily been completed in advance in the air, Liu said.
But he was pleased that so many arriving Chinese passengers seemed eager to start their Hawaii vacations, which Liu expects will include plenty of shopping for luxury goods.
“They can get better value here, as well as the assurance that it’s authentic,” Liu said.
Many of the Chinese visitors planned to follow China CYTS Tours of major Oahu attractions while others designed individual itineraries.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority said the Chinese visitors will stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Sheraton Waikiki, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, Aston Hotels and Resorts, Ocean Resorts Waikiki and the Hyatt Regency.
“The series of Hawaii package products have been promoted in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Shanxi Province and are designed to meet the different demands of Chinese travelers,” Zhang Lijun, president of CYTS, said in a statement. “The tour package for this first group is specifically for individuals who wanted to travel during the Chinese New Year.”
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Great Golf & Exciting Finish at the Kaanapali Champions Skins Game
Nicklaus, Watson defend Skins title
Tandem collects $310,000 to edge O’Meara, Langer
By MATTHEW CARROLL
Article from: The Maui News
KAANAPALI – Practice makes perfect, even for Jack Nicklaus.
Fresh off a two-month stretch of what he called “awful” golf, Nicklaus fired a 6-iron from 137 yards to within 12 feet on the par-3 17th hole and Tom Watson converted the $250,000 birdie putt Sunday as the legendary duo pocketed $310,000 en route to becoming the first tandem to successfully defend its title at the Kaanapali Champions Skins Game.
The pair of Hall of Famers captured the opening two skins on Saturday at the Royal Kaanapali Course and waited patiently over the ensuing 14 holes before the Golden Bear picked the perfect time to pounce, nearly duplicating his best shot of the opening round and locking up the team’s third crown together with seven skins.
“Skins game is a funny game. After birdieing the second hole yesterday, we were hanging in there, we really didn’t do much,” said Nicklaus, owner of a record 18 major championships. “Today we were just sort of hanging around, not really competing. All of sudden, 17, boom! That’s what the game is.
“I’m glad I picked the right hole to make the right shot and I’m glad Tom took the right hole to make the right putt.”
First-round leaders Bernhard Langer and Mark O’Meara were left with $300,000 and seven skins, including the $100,000 “superskin” on the second playoff hole, after Langer’s 15-footer lipped out on the 17th. Fred Couples and Nick Price won two skins and $80,000, as did Ben Crenshaw and Fuzzy Zoeller.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t win, but Jack hit an amazing shot off the 17th hole after I hit a pretty good one, and the hole was playing pretty tough,” O’Meara said. “He hit a world-class shot and Tom made a world-class putt.”
That’s a far cry from where Nicklaus deemed his game to be recently.
The 71-year old doesn’t hit the links that much anymore – “If I play 10 rounds of golf between now and the time I get back here next year I’ll be just absolutely amazed,” he said – but managed to sneak in a handful of holes during a two-month stretch in Florida prior to his arrival on the Valley Isle.
The greatest golfer of all time is one of few who can call three 78s, a 76 and a 72 “just terrible.”
“I even came out and practiced for the first time in five years,” Nicklaus said. “I hadn’t practiced in five years, where I actually went out to try and practice.
“I was on the verge of hitting the ball decently when I came out here, and actually I really started hitting the ball here.”
It showed Saturday, when he landed a 5-iron from 185 yards within three feet for two skins, and it was evident Sunday, too, never more so than on the final par 3.
“It may be surprising to some, it may be surprising to him, but it’s typical Jack in the way that he looks at his golf game,” said Watson, an eight-time major champion who also won with Nicklaus in 2007. “He looks at it very pragmatically, as I do. That’s why we like each other, ’cause we look at the game very pragmatically.
“He said, ‘When I first came here I was hitting it not very well. Then I found something that worked and then I found another thing that was working I added on top of that, and then I found a third thing that worked and added it on top of that and actually was playing pretty well.’ ”
During Nicklaus’ early-morning practice rounds, the picturesque shot over the fountain-dotted pond played as a 7- or 8-iron. Around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, however, a stiff wind forced him to alter his approach, and teeing off last allowed him to do so.
“I saw the guys try to hit 7-irons and they were hitting the ball, they were spinning it and they were going all over the place,” Nicklaus said. “So I said I’m going to take my 6-iron, choke it down a couple inches and just pick it, and try to make sure I didn’t put any spin on the ball. Which is what I did. It turned out to be a pretty darn good shot.
“Sometimes you have to go back and look in your memory bank and see if you can find something.”
Watson instantly recognized it was the best of the bunch.
“When the ball left his club, it was just boring right through the air, it wasn’t ballooning,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a heck of a shot.”
The stakes just added to the flair of the moment.
After Langer sank a seven-foot birdie worth $80,000 on No. 12, multiple players missed opportunities.
Price – who tapped in for birdie on the 10th for his team’s skins -missed a short birdie try on the 13th, curling the putt around the right side of the cup, and Couples missed a 10-footer for $100,000 on the 14th. After the 15th was halved, Couples again faltered with a big prize on the line, barely missing a downhill 15-footer for birdie on the 16th and carrying the pot over for a fourth straight hole.
“We needed a putt, but you know, today no one really made a putt,” Couples said. “We were in the same ballgame.”
As were Nicklaus and Watson, biding their time before seizing the day.
“Just lurking. We were just dodging bullets out there. We were dodging bullet after bullet after bullet,” Watson said. “We weren’t helping ourselves very much. When Jack hit that shot at 17, I knew it was time to convert.”
They landed in the rough more times than they care to remember, played out of a bunker or two and missed some key putts, yet always remained in the hunt.
Not quite the blueprint for success. But then again, with 26 major championships between the two, coming through in the clutch is nothing new.
“As I said to a lot of people yesterday, I said how would you like to step up on the first tee, and people say, ‘Well who’s your partner?’ ‘Well, my partner is Jack Nicklaus,’ ” Watson said emphatically. “How would you feel like having Jack Nicklaus as your partner?
“That’s the way I feel, always have.”
Couples probably wouldn’t mind the opportunity, either.
“Into the wind here, he hit a beautiful shot. That made the week, really, for me to watch that,” he said. “To see Jack hit that shot, the toughest shot of the day and he was the one who hit it, it was kind of fun to watch.”
Tandem collects $310,000 to edge O’Meara, Langer
By MATTHEW CARROLL
Article from: The Maui News
KAANAPALI – Practice makes perfect, even for Jack Nicklaus.
Fresh off a two-month stretch of what he called “awful” golf, Nicklaus fired a 6-iron from 137 yards to within 12 feet on the par-3 17th hole and Tom Watson converted the $250,000 birdie putt Sunday as the legendary duo pocketed $310,000 en route to becoming the first tandem to successfully defend its title at the Kaanapali Champions Skins Game.
The pair of Hall of Famers captured the opening two skins on Saturday at the Royal Kaanapali Course and waited patiently over the ensuing 14 holes before the Golden Bear picked the perfect time to pounce, nearly duplicating his best shot of the opening round and locking up the team’s third crown together with seven skins.
“Skins game is a funny game. After birdieing the second hole yesterday, we were hanging in there, we really didn’t do much,” said Nicklaus, owner of a record 18 major championships. “Today we were just sort of hanging around, not really competing. All of sudden, 17, boom! That’s what the game is.
“I’m glad I picked the right hole to make the right shot and I’m glad Tom took the right hole to make the right putt.”
First-round leaders Bernhard Langer and Mark O’Meara were left with $300,000 and seven skins, including the $100,000 “superskin” on the second playoff hole, after Langer’s 15-footer lipped out on the 17th. Fred Couples and Nick Price won two skins and $80,000, as did Ben Crenshaw and Fuzzy Zoeller.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t win, but Jack hit an amazing shot off the 17th hole after I hit a pretty good one, and the hole was playing pretty tough,” O’Meara said. “He hit a world-class shot and Tom made a world-class putt.”
That’s a far cry from where Nicklaus deemed his game to be recently.
The 71-year old doesn’t hit the links that much anymore – “If I play 10 rounds of golf between now and the time I get back here next year I’ll be just absolutely amazed,” he said – but managed to sneak in a handful of holes during a two-month stretch in Florida prior to his arrival on the Valley Isle.
The greatest golfer of all time is one of few who can call three 78s, a 76 and a 72 “just terrible.”
“I even came out and practiced for the first time in five years,” Nicklaus said. “I hadn’t practiced in five years, where I actually went out to try and practice.
“I was on the verge of hitting the ball decently when I came out here, and actually I really started hitting the ball here.”
It showed Saturday, when he landed a 5-iron from 185 yards within three feet for two skins, and it was evident Sunday, too, never more so than on the final par 3.
“It may be surprising to some, it may be surprising to him, but it’s typical Jack in the way that he looks at his golf game,” said Watson, an eight-time major champion who also won with Nicklaus in 2007. “He looks at it very pragmatically, as I do. That’s why we like each other, ’cause we look at the game very pragmatically.
“He said, ‘When I first came here I was hitting it not very well. Then I found something that worked and then I found another thing that was working I added on top of that, and then I found a third thing that worked and added it on top of that and actually was playing pretty well.’ ”
During Nicklaus’ early-morning practice rounds, the picturesque shot over the fountain-dotted pond played as a 7- or 8-iron. Around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, however, a stiff wind forced him to alter his approach, and teeing off last allowed him to do so.
“I saw the guys try to hit 7-irons and they were hitting the ball, they were spinning it and they were going all over the place,” Nicklaus said. “So I said I’m going to take my 6-iron, choke it down a couple inches and just pick it, and try to make sure I didn’t put any spin on the ball. Which is what I did. It turned out to be a pretty darn good shot.
“Sometimes you have to go back and look in your memory bank and see if you can find something.”
Watson instantly recognized it was the best of the bunch.
“When the ball left his club, it was just boring right through the air, it wasn’t ballooning,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a heck of a shot.”
The stakes just added to the flair of the moment.
After Langer sank a seven-foot birdie worth $80,000 on No. 12, multiple players missed opportunities.
Price – who tapped in for birdie on the 10th for his team’s skins -missed a short birdie try on the 13th, curling the putt around the right side of the cup, and Couples missed a 10-footer for $100,000 on the 14th. After the 15th was halved, Couples again faltered with a big prize on the line, barely missing a downhill 15-footer for birdie on the 16th and carrying the pot over for a fourth straight hole.
“We needed a putt, but you know, today no one really made a putt,” Couples said. “We were in the same ballgame.”
As were Nicklaus and Watson, biding their time before seizing the day.
“Just lurking. We were just dodging bullets out there. We were dodging bullet after bullet after bullet,” Watson said. “We weren’t helping ourselves very much. When Jack hit that shot at 17, I knew it was time to convert.”
They landed in the rough more times than they care to remember, played out of a bunker or two and missed some key putts, yet always remained in the hunt.
Not quite the blueprint for success. But then again, with 26 major championships between the two, coming through in the clutch is nothing new.
“As I said to a lot of people yesterday, I said how would you like to step up on the first tee, and people say, ‘Well who’s your partner?’ ‘Well, my partner is Jack Nicklaus,’ ” Watson said emphatically. “How would you feel like having Jack Nicklaus as your partner?
“That’s the way I feel, always have.”
Couples probably wouldn’t mind the opportunity, either.
“Into the wind here, he hit a beautiful shot. That made the week, really, for me to watch that,” he said. “To see Jack hit that shot, the toughest shot of the day and he was the one who hit it, it was kind of fun to watch.”
Saturday, January 29, 2011
What's In Store For 2011?
Click the link for an insightful Associated Press article.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-01-28-16-54-09
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-01-28-16-54-09
Friday, January 28, 2011
Big Developer, Selling Off Property...
Properties available in Waihee, Wailuku, Kihei and even in Kona on the Big Island.
If you have any questions about Commercial Real Estate available on Maui, please call Bob Hansen, BROKER at 808.283.9456 or Donna D. Hansen, Realtor (S) at 808.280.1650.
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